I have always been a firm believer in re-evaluating yourself on a regular basis. Take a look at yourself, your behaviors, and your quirks. By doing this, you can uncover weaknesses you. Read to work on, but also build on your strengths.
Case in point. I am in the process of rolling out wiki software for many clients. This software deployment will be a cookie cutter rollout, with customizations for each client after the initial implementation. I am behind on this for one big reason. Fear. Now, this is not Michael Meyers standing over your bed fear. It’s a fear of choosing the wrong platform. I have evaluated several wiki packages and talked to several people deploying each of them. Like most things, they have strengths and weaknesses. The fear breeds indecision. Is there something out there which I haven’t found that is better? Is there a better way or a way I haven’t thought of to accomplish what I am trying? The answer to all of these is probably yes.
How do you not fall into the trap of indecision? Couple of things you can do.
1. Before anything like this sit-down and write out the problem you are trying to solve. In my case with the wikis, I needed something to keep track of not only documentation but the odds and ends notes.
2. Write down what would help solve the issue. In my case an online repository of information.
3. Create a list of ways to solve this problem. This step may involve research. What are the software packages out there to address my issue? Are we utilizing anything today which could resolve this issue?
3. Once you have done some research formulate the must needed features in your solution. From there prioritize them.
4. Many people start to break down during this stage. Whether it is getting overwhelmed from the sheer amount of choices or thinking every feature is needed. The decision process begins to grind to a halt rather quickly. How do you overcome this? First, be realistic, how many of the features do you really need to accomplish your goal? Out of the features left, what does it take to implement them? How many times have you deployed a software tool and are only utilizing a fraction of the tools available? This happens quite a bit.
5.Set a hard time to make a decision. Tell yourself you have ten business days to research and come up with the solution. Once you have made the decision, have a rollout plan in place. This plan should include a timeline of start and finish. This way you don’t start to second guess yourself and drag your feet even more.
This method is not a foolproof way, but it will get you to implement more things than you are now.
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